Electric compressor

ABSTRACT

An electric compressor comprising a casing in which a compressing mechanism  4,  an electric motor portion for driving the compressing mechanism  4,  and an inverter portion  8  for driving the electric motor portion are incorporated, wherein a surface of the casing is provided with a collided portion  3   d,  the collided portion  3   d  is provided only on a portion of the casing other than a portion thereof in which the electric motor portion is incorporated and a portion of the casing other than a portion thereof in which the inverter portion  8  is incorporated. According to this, it is possible to provide the electric compressor  1  capable of preventing a high voltage portion from being exposed to an impact load applied to the electric compressor  1  when a vehicle collides without increasing a weight, an external size and a cost of the electric compressor  1.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an electric compressor including a compressing mechanism, an electric motor portion for driving the compressing mechanism, and a casing provided therein with an inverter portion for driving the electric motor portion.

BACKGROUND TECHNIQUE

In recent years, there is proposed an electric compressor in which an inverter portion for controlling a driving operation of an electric motor portion is integrally fixed to a compressing mechanism or an electric motor portion (see patent document 1 for example).

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-191153

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

In such an electric compressor, as one of means for preventing a high voltage portion from being exposed to an impact load caused at the time of collision of a vehicle, it is known to enhance strength of the electric compressor itself by increasing a thickness of a casing or changing material of the casing.

However, if the thickness of the casing is increased or the material thereof is changed, a weight, an external size and a cost of the electric compressor itself are increased, and a product value of the electric compressor is deteriorated.

The present invention is achieved to solve this problem, and it is an object of the invention to provide an electric compressor capable of preventing a high voltage portion from being exposed to the impact load without increasing the weight, the external size and the cost of the electric compressor.

Means for Solving the Problem

To solve the conventional problem, the present invention provides an electric compressor in which a surface of a casing is provided with a collided portion which receives impact from outside, the collided portion is provided only on a portion of the casing other than a portion thereof in which the electric motor portion is incorporated and a portion of the casing other than a portion thereof in which the inverter portion is incorporated.

According to this, it is possible to prevent a high voltage portion from being exposed to an impact load without increasing a weight, an external size and a cost of the electric compressor.

Effect of the Invention

According to the electric compressor of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a high voltage portion from being exposed to an impact load without increasing a weight, an external size and a cost of the electric compressor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a compressor according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outward appearance of the compressor according to the first embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outward appearance of a compressor according to a second embodiment of the invention.

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

1 electric compressor 2 mounting leg 3 main container 3 a compressing mechanism-side opening 3 b electric motor-side opening 3 c end wall 3 d collided portion 4 compressing mechanism 5 electric motor 5 a stator 5 b rotor 5 c lead wire 6 suction auxiliary container 7 discharge auxiliary container 8 inverter 9 filter 10 fixed scroll 10 a recess 11 rotary scroll 11 a rotary scroll panel 11 b throttle 11 d cylindrical portion 12 compression space 13 drive shaft 13 a eccentric shaft 14 suction port 15 discharge port 16 liquid reservoir 17 lubricating oil 18 gear pump 19 oil supply passage 20 liquid pool 21 back pressure chamber 22 main bearing 23 auxiliary bearing 24 eccentric bearing 25 main bearing member 26 pump plate 27 oil reservoir chamber 28 oil suction passage 29 Oldham ring 30 bush 31 communication passage 40 terminal 41 metal terminal 42 cluster block

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the present invention provides an electric compressor comprising a casing in which a compressing mechanism, an electric motor portion for driving the compressing mechanism, and an inverter portion for driving the electric motor portion are incorporated, wherein a surface of the casing is provided with a collided portion, and the collided portion is provided only on a portion of the casing other than a portion thereof in which the electric motor portion is incorporated and a portion of the casing other than a portion thereof in which the inverter portion is incorporated. According to this, an impact load to the electric compressor is applied to a region other than a high voltage portion such as the inverter portion and the electric motor portion, and even if a container other than the region of the high voltage portion is damaged, it is possible to prevent the high voltage portion from being exposed.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect, the collided portion is formed into a boss shape. Therefore, it is possible to further prevent a weight of the electric compressor from increasing.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect, the casing comprises a main container in which the compressing mechanism and the electric motor portion are incorporated, and an auxiliary container in which the inverter portion is incorporated.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The invention is not limited to the embodiments.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electric compressor according to a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 shows one example of the lateral type electric compressor which is laterally placed by mounting legs 2 existing around a barrel of the electric compressor 1.

The electric compressor 1 includes a main container 3, and a compressing mechanism 4 and an electric motor 5 for driving the compressing mechanism 4 are incorporated in the main container 3. The main container 3 has a compressing mechanism-side opening 3 a and an electric motor-side opening 3 b. A suction auxiliary container 6 and a discharge auxiliary container 7 are attached to the openings 3 a and 3 b such that the suction auxiliary container 6 and the discharge auxiliary container 7 are respectively opposed to the openings 3 a and 3 b, thereby forming a hermetic container. An inverter 8 for driving the electric motor 5 is incorporated in the suction auxiliary container 6. The discharge auxiliary container 7 includes an oil reservoir chamber 27 for supplying lubricating liquid to sliding portions including the compressing mechanism 4, and a main bearing 22, an auxiliary bearing 23 and an eccentric bearing 24.

Refrigerant handled in the electric compressor 1 is gas refrigerant. Liquid such as lubricating oil 17 is employed as liquid supplied for lubrication of the sliding portions and the bearings 22, 23 and 24 and for sealing the sliding portion of the compressing mechanism 4. The lubricating oil 17 is compatible with refrigerant.

The compressing mechanism 4 of the electric compressor 1 of this embodiment is a scroll type compressing mechanism as one example. As shown in FIG. 1, a fixed scroll 10 and a rotary scroll 11 are meshed with each other to form a compression space 12. The rotary scroll 11 is swirled by the electric motor 5 with respect to the fixed scroll 10 through a drive shaft 13, a capacity of the compression space 12 is changed, and refrigerant which returns from an external cycle is sucked and compressed. The refrigerant is discharged into the external cycle through a suction port 14 formed in the suction auxiliary container 6 and through a discharge port 15 formed in the discharge auxiliary container 7.

At the same time, a gear pump 18 is driven by the drive shaft 13 or a pressure difference in the main container 3 is utilized, and thus, lubricating oil 17 stored in a liquid reservoir 16 of the discharge auxiliary container 7 is introduced into the oil reservoir chamber 27. As the rotary scroll 11 swirls, the lubricating oil 17 is supplied to a liquid pool 20 formed in a back surface of the rotary scroll 11 through an oil supply passage 19 of the drive shaft 13 via a filter 9, and a portion of the lubricating oil 17 supplied to the liquid pool 20 is supplied to a back pressure chamber 21 in a surface of an outer periphery of the rotary scroll 11 opposite from a lap through a rotary scroll panel 11 a under predetermined limitation of a throttle 11 b. By supplying the lubricating oil 17 to a recess 10 a provided in the fixed scroll 10 through a communication hole (not shown) formed in the rotary scroll 11, back pressure is adjusted to a predetermined amount, the rotary scroll 11 is pressed to carry out back up and in this state, the lubricating oil 17 is supplied between the fixed scroll 10 and the rotary scroll 11, sealing and lubrication between the fixed scroll 10 and the rotary scroll 11 are carried out. Another portion of the lubricating oil 17 supplied to the liquid pool 20 is used for lubrication through the eccentric bearing 24 and the main bearing 22 and then, this lubricating oil 17 flows out toward the electric motor 5 and is collected into the liquid reservoir 16.

The auxiliary bearing 23, the electric motor 5 and a main bearing member 25 having the main bearing 22 are placed from an end wall 3 c of the electric motor-side opening 3 b in the main container 3. A gear pump 18 is accommodated in an outer surface of the end wall 3 c and then, the gear pump 18 is held between the end wall 3 c and the pump plate 26 mounted through a bolt (not shown), the oil reservoir chamber 27 which is in communication with the liquid reservoir 16 is formed inside of the discharge auxiliary container 7, and the oil reservoir chamber 27 is in communication with the liquid reservoir 16 through an oil suction passage 28.

The auxiliary bearing 23 is supported by the end wall 3 c, a side of the drive shaft 13 which is connected to the gear pump 18 is supported in a bearing manner. A stator 5 a of the electric motor 5 is fixed to an inner periphery of the main container 3 through a bolt or by shrinkage fitting, the rotor 5 b is fixed around an intermediate portion of the drive shaft 13, and the drive shaft 13 can be rotated and driven by the stator 5 a and the rotor 5 b. The main bearing member 25 is inserted or press-fitted into the main container 3. A portion of the drive shaft 13 on the side of the compressing mechanism 4 is supported by the main bearing 22 in a bearing manner. The fixed scroll 10 is mounted on an outer surface of the main bearing member 25 through a bolt (not shown) , the rotary scroll 11 is sandwiched between the main bearing member 25 and the fixed scroll 10 to configure a scroll compressor.

An Oldham ring 29 is provided between the main bearing member 25 and the rotary scroll 11. The Oldham ring 29 prevents the rotary scroll 11 from rotating and allows the rotary scroll 11 to swirl. An eccentric shaft 13 a is integrally formed on an end surface of the drive shaft 13, and a bush 30 is fitted into and supported by the eccentric shaft 13 a. The rotary scroll 11 is supported by the bush 30 such that the rotary scroll 11 can swirl through the eccentric bearing 24 and such that the rotary scroll 11 is opposed to the fixed scroll 10. A cylindrical portion 11 d projects from a back surface of the rotary scroll panel 11 a of the rotary scroll 11, and the eccentric bearing 24 is accommodated in the cylindrical portion lid. An inner ring of the eccentric bearing 24 is fitted into the bush 30, and an outer ring of the eccentric bearing 24 is fitted into the cylindrical portion 11 d.

The compressing mechanism 4 is covered with the suction auxiliary container 6 which is fixed through a bolt (not shown) such that the main container 3 and compressing mechanism-side opening 3 a are butted against each other. The compressing mechanism 4 is located between the suction port 14 of the suction auxiliary container 6 and the discharge port 15 of the discharge auxiliary container 7, a suction hole (not shown) of the compressing mechanism 4 is connected to the suction port 14 of the suction auxiliary container 6 through a suction passage, and a discharge hole (not shown) of the compressing mechanism 4 opens into a discharge chamber through a reed valve . The discharge chamber is in communication with the electric motor 5 between the compressing mechanism 4 and the end wall 3 c through a communication passage 31 formed between the fixed scroll 10 and the main bearing member 25, or between the fixed scroll 10, the main bearing member 25 and the main container 3. A lead wire 5 c of the electric motor 5 is pulled out toward the suction auxiliary container 6 through the communication passage 31 formed between the fixed scroll 10 and the main bearing member 25, or between the fixed scroll 10, the main bearing member 25 and the main container 3. A cluster block 42 connected to an end of the lead wire 5 c is connected to a metal terminal 41 of a terminal 40 which penetrates the suction auxiliary container 6. The terminal 40 is connected to the inverter 8 in the suction auxiliary container 6.

According to this, high voltage is supplied from the vehicle to the inverter 8 through a connector (not shown), the high voltage is supplied to the electric motor 5 by the terminal 40 and the metal terminal 41 connected to the terminal 40, the electric motor 5 is driven, and the compressing mechanism 4 swirls through the drive shaft 13. At this time, lubricating oil 17 in the liquid reservoir 16 is supplied to the compressing mechanism 4 by the gear pump 18, the compressing mechanism 4 is lubricated, sealed and pressed and in this state, the compressing mechanism 4 sucks refrigerant returning from a refrigeration cycle through the suction port 14 of the suction auxiliary container 6 and a suction hole (not shown) formed in the fixed scroll 10 of the compressing mechanism 4, and the compressing mechanism 4 compresses the refrigerant and discharges the refrigerant from the discharge hole (not shown) of the compressing mechanism 4 to a discharge chamber of the compressing mechanism 4. At this time, the inverter 8 is cooled by the returned refrigerant. Further, the refrigerant which is discharged into the discharge chamber enters the electric motor 5 through a communication passage (not shown), the refrigerant cools the electric motor 5, the refrigerant collides with the electric motor 5, gas and liquid such as throttle are separated from the refrigerant, the lubricating oil 17 is separated from the refrigerant and the refrigerant is discharged from the discharge port 15 of the discharge auxiliary container 7.

Since the electric compressor 1 of this embodiment is laterally placed in the vehicle by the mounting legs 2 existing around the barrel, a surface of the main container 3 or the suction auxiliary container 6 as viewed from front in FIG. 1 or 2 becomes a collided portion 3 d when the vehicle collides.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the collided portion 3 d which is provided on a surface of the main container 3 or a surface of the suction auxiliary container 6 and which receive impact from outside are provided only on a portion of the main container 3 or the suction auxiliary container 6 other than a portion thereof in which the electric motor portion is incorporated and a portion of the main container 3 or the suction auxiliary container 6 other than a portion thereof in which the inverter 8 is incorporated. According to this, an impact load to the electric compressor 1 is added to a region outside the high voltage portion such as the inverter portion or the electric motor portion, and even if a container outside the region of the high voltage portion is damaged, it is possible to prevent the high voltage portion from being exposed. A material of the collided portion 3 d may be the same as that of the casing or may be different from that of the casing.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outward appearance of an electric compressor according to a second embodiment of the invention. The sectional view of the electric compressor 1 in the second embodiment of the invention is the same as the drawing which shows the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, the collided portion 3 d of the first embodiment is formed into a boss shape.

An effect of the electric compressor 1 having the above-described configuration will be described below. In the electric compressor 1 configured as in the first embodiment, an impact load applied to the electric compressor 1 when a vehicle collides is added to a region outside a high voltage portion such as an inverter 8 accommodated in a suction auxiliary container 6 and an electric motor 5 accommodated in a main container 3. Therefore, even if a container outside the region of the high voltage portion is damaged, it is possible to prevent the high voltage portion from being exposed.

In the electric compressor 1 configured as in the second embodiment, since the collided portion 3 d is formed as a boss, it is possible to further restrain the electric compressor 1 from increasing in weight.

It is described in the invention that in the electric compressor 1, the compressing mechanism 4 and the electric motor portion are incorporated in the main container 3, and the inverter 8 is incorporated in the suction auxiliary container 6. However, the invention is not limited to this configuration, and the invention can also be applied to an electric compressor 1 in which the compressing mechanism 4, the electric motor portion and the inverter 8 are accommodated in the main container 3.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be applied to a motor compressor including a compressing mechanism, an electric motor portion and an inverter portion in a casing. 

1. An electric compressor comprising a casing in which a compressing mechanism, an electric motor portion for driving the compressing mechanism, and an inverter portion for driving the electric motor portion are incorporated, in which the electric compressor is laterally placed by a mounting leg existing around a barrel of the casing, wherein the compressing mechanism and the electric motor portion are incorporated in a main container, a suction auxiliary container is attached to a compressing mechanism-side opening of the main container such that the suction auxiliary container is opposed to the opening, the inverter portion is incorporated in the suction auxiliary container, and a surface around the barrel of the casing is provided with a collided portion, the collided portion is provided only on a portion of the main container in which the compressing mechanism is incorporated other than a portion of the suction auxiliary container in which the inverter portion is incorporated and other than a portion of the main container in which the electric motor portion is incorporated.
 2. The electric compressor according to claim 1, wherein the collided portion is a boss provided on the surface of the casing.
 3. The electric compressor according to claim 1, wherein the casing comprises the main container in which the compressing mechanism and the electric motor portion are incorporated, and the suction auxiliary container in which the inverter portion is incorporated. 